Broncos Tangents

Wes Welker claims the recent playbook mini-controversy involving the Pats and Jets was simply a byproduct of the "mind games" those two organizations play with each other. Welker says he has no knowledge of New England having had the Jets' playbook.

Brandon Lloyd says his year away from the game was a "relief," even if he's happy to be back at it with the Niners.

News

Kansas City claimed corner Brandon Jones off waivers from San Diego, who had cut him to make room for newly signed ex-Chief Brandon Flowers.

But when contract time comes up for some of the exsisting player, fans should not whine about losing some of them because unlike MLB there is a over the cap tax.

While caps seem to be going up each year there will be a point that it will stop increasing at the rate it did this past year.

Players will be cut because of back loaded contracts. As our cap will be overloaded.

Now the only way to HELP keep it in check is to hit top three picks EVERY year and maybe a late rounders(DT) or UDFA or two each year to sustain talent to keep them in the hunt each year.

Anyway good posts as usual.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-06-27 18:41:36

I'm sure player mentoring means a lot, especially with little detailed tips, and with handling oneself off the field and bouncing back from bad plays on the field. But coaches can see more of exactly what a player needs as far as drills, and can set up those drills. They also can feel when it's time to give a player a break (mentally or physically).

It was interesting last year, when DRC said he had never been coached hard by his previous coaches, and hadn't been shown in detail what he wasn't doing well.

Posted by billyricky on 2014-06-27 18:08:28

Bus Cook is the most honest person I've ever......oh wait, he was Jay Cutler's agent.

Posted by billyricky on 2014-06-27 18:02:20

"Had they not picked up Ward who is built more like a LB than SS, they may have pressed a little harder for a true MLB."

That's a very good point. I'd add something:

I'm not surprised that the Broncos tried for a top MLB in the 1st round. There aren't that many, given the type of offenses and defenses at the college level. Many draftniks had Barrow ranked third among Mikes. Many college teams are using some hybrid of an odd front defense, which necessitates using 2 ILBs. That's a very different role from the kind of Mike Denver needs. You're never sure how much of a certain player's work is the scheme as much as the player's skill, and never sure how an ILB will handle moving to Mike. That doesn't mean that Irving won't be fine - it's just a way to get an elite player, and you don't turn those down.

Secondly, if they can upgrade any position, they're likely to do so. The Broncos were as surprised as anyone with the work of Roby, and didn't expect to have him around at 31, just as they didn't expect to have Sly Williams at 28 last year. Looking at top MLBs is no more unusual to me than scoping out QBs (which ended in Bryn Renner's acquisition), DBs or WRs. Trevathan has Will wrapped up and Miller, with his head on straight, gets the Sam slot. Any improvement among LBs has to come in the middle.

Instead, the prices were too high for Denver to move. Those players went earlier and as a result of a chain of choices, Denver nailed getting an elite DB in Roby, which is just as good or better. Every position needs to be upgraded when you can.

Posted by Doc Bear on 2014-06-27 17:18:40

I love the signing of Ware as much for the influence he can have on Miller on and off the field as to what he can contribute on the field. I like what I have been hearing from Miller but the proof will be in the pudding.

Posted by IDBronco on 2014-06-27 16:59:22

If one of the others beat him out that is all the better.

But this notion that you have to have 8-9 pro bowlers of the defense is nuts. There is NO way to sustain that kind of talent.

Look at how many starters or top quality backups from last years team are gone. When you are a consistent contender you can only afford to keep the very best of the best and maybe not even that because bottom feeders will get the DTs and JTs because we will not match them overpaying for players.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-06-27 16:41:35

I read the interest in Shazier (not so much Mosley) as totally warranted because IMO he was among the best defensive players available in the draft. In fact, my two favorites defensive players were Shazier and Roby (in that order). To me the great surprise was that Roby was still available. And the great miracle would have been to find a way to get both.And I'd always be interested in an upgrade anywhere, no matter who was already on the roster.

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2014-06-27 16:35:46

that is logical.

But I suspect they had X number of visits for prospects and they used them either as we want these guy or a SMOKE SCREEN, if they wanted (REALLY) wanted one they would have had to spend draft picks to get them.

I suspect that they were window shopping and they also knew that they had other options of lesser quality.

I also believe they know that IF your DL and in particular the DT's are really good to great, then the (so called) MLB does not have to be a super star.

They are going to be hard pressed to keep Von and DT (WIL) as LBs when their contracts come due.

With all the other talent on the team in front as well as behind Irving (or whomever) they decided that they did not have to break the bank for a guy that MIGHT only see 30% of the snaps.

Had they not picked up Ward who is built more like a LB than SS, they may have pressed a little harder for a true MLB.

Some folks forget that JDR is an Ex Pro Bowl LB and he knows his players and what they can do..

He has been THE prime mover to upgrade the DT spot since he got here. Then adding Miller well that really helped, until he GOT STUPID.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-06-27 16:24:52

Totally agree. I think we're in good shape and Del Rio can always get creative in obvious passing situations.

Posted by Broncologist on 2014-06-27 16:10:16

I feel shame.

Posted by Broncologist on 2014-06-27 15:59:31

Sorry. If you dared question why Clowney's performance completely tanked last season, you're almost certainly a racist. Should have read his mind a bit more carefully there, bigot.

Posted by Yahmule on 2014-06-27 15:52:29

With the return of the 5 starters on defense and with the three big FA acquisitions on defense it will basically be a totally different defense that starts the year compared to the one in the Superbowl. Depending upon if Vickerson is ready and who ends up starting between him and Williams the only starters would be Trevathan and Knighton. On paper, I am extremely excited about the possibilities of this defense. The only thing that worries me are how many "ifs" we have.

Posted by IDBronco on 2014-06-27 15:12:27

I was thinking some of the guys at MHR had press credentials. If so wouldn't they be able to gain access?

Posted by IDBronco on 2014-06-27 15:01:38

Probably my biggest reason for concern with Irving were the actions of the FO this offseason. They brought in most of the top MLBs and reportedly were interested in moving up for Shazier/Mosley. This tells me that they weren't 100% sold on Irving as the starter. Now they ended up not getting any of them which tells me they like Irving enough to not over pay for any of them. Personally, I like Irving enough and I think the rest of the defense is going to be good enough that while I don't think it will be one our positions of strength we'll be OK.

Posted by IDBronco on 2014-06-27 14:59:07

I'm not sure why no one (fans) shows Irving any respect.

He did a great job as a SAM last year considering it was not a natural spot for him.

Guess it was because he was drafted higher than most thought he should be or they have woodys because "THEIR" guy was not picked instead of him.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2014-06-27 14:40:59

Liked this headline from The Onion, June 9th :"Winner Of World Cup Hammered Out Just In Time For Tournament"

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2014-06-27 14:39:48

I would like to thank Ashley Fox for being one of the only people in the media to bother mentioning that the Broncos were missing five defensive starters from the AFC Championship game on. We got to hear about the poor, poor Patriots injuries ad nauseum, but hardly anyone so much as brought up the fact that the Broncos defense was banged up every which way.

Posted by Clockwork Orange on 2014-06-27 14:27:57

There are a couple of articles around on Irving. The one by Wakeman in BR is pretty much worthless (among other weaknesses, it totally ignores the reality of "no huddle" on LB play). But the others help to underscore a couple of things of interest. First of all, when given more opportunities to play, Irving has shown noticeable improvement in the important areas - reads, coverage and run stoppage. Secondly, the coaches seem satisfied with the progress that he's making and his apparent upside.Thirdly, while both Johnson and Barrow have impressed, yet mostly the impression is that Irving is not yet adequately challenged by them as a partner to Trevathan. Fourthly, reading between all of these lines, I'm beginning to think that nickel LB is steadily becoming a position of strength and depth.

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2014-06-27 14:16:06

There's an article on Bleacher Report by Ryan Riddle describing what it's like to be a part of TC.The most interesting part of the article IMO is the degree to which he stresses the impact that player mentoring has on player development.We (I) tend to assume that player development is largely the responsibility of the coaching staff. And IMO one of Fox's strengths is that, even when he loses coaches to head-coaching jobs, he's still able to replace them with coaches who are quality player-development coaches.But this article reminds us (me) that the mentoring by other players has a great impact on player development. We already knew that about Bailey and some of us wondered whether or not it would have been good to keep him on the roster just for that ability (although reducing salary seldom has good results). And, of course, PM is renown for his commitment to improving the players around him. We've heard something already about Ware's affect on Miller and Q Smith. I suspect that Talib and Ward will also add some positive influence.What we call "the locker room" probably has more influence on player development than we think.

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2014-06-27 14:06:52

Thanks for the response.That's kind of what I expected.

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2014-06-27 13:55:08

I assume people like Mason, Lammey and Legwold and so forth will attend and publish reports.But Kaptain Kirk at MHR may not be able to attend (he always had to sit on the grass with the visitors) and write up his excellent reports. Although last I heard MHR was trying to get him press creds.

Posted by bradley on 2014-06-27 13:52:58

I'm not clear about how the TC's "closed to the public due to construction" restrictions affect the information available from camp. Are we going to be restricted to official "press releases'? Will some media credentials be issued? Or, best of all, will videos be available?Just curious.

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2014-06-27 13:37:59

But I thought the move to remove the racist name was led exclusively by PR-obsessed liberals!

/head asplode

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2014-06-27 13:02:46

Doug-Clowney passed his physicals with no question marks. Certainly it's possible that he did play injured last year and the Drs missed this, but Clowney has made no such claims himself. So you are taking Buss Cook's word on it as gospel. Just sayin.

Posted by Broncologist on 2014-06-27 12:51:37

I wonder if KC claimed Brandon Jones "with revenge in mind" - and the Brady hairstyle bit is stupid but still a nice laugh at the end of a long week. As always Mr. Lee, many thanks for the habit of the Lard!